Nissan profit drops 27 percent!

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Nissan reported a decline in profit for the July-September quarter on one-time expenses and higher taxes that eroded overall sales growth and improved earnings in core auto operations.Profit at Nissan Motor Company for the fiscal second quarter totaled 120.1 billion yen($1.05 billion),down from 164 billion yen in the previous year. Sales at Japan's Number 3 automaker surged 13 percent on year to 2.618 trillion yen($22.9 billion),as sales grew in the U.S,Europe,Russia and China.Nissan sold 941,000 vehicles worldwide,up 6.6 percent compared with a year ago.Nissan maintained its forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 2008 at 480 billion yen($4.20 billion) profit.

Analysts say how the company holds up for the rest of the year may be critical.

If Nissan falls short of its targets for the rest of this fiscal year,it would be the second straight year of missing its goal,said Tsuyoshi Mochimaru,auto analyst with Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.And that's at a company that has built its management reputation by meeting commitments"he said,referring to Ghosn's style of setting clear goals to assess performance.

For the half-year,Nissan's profit fell 23 percent to 212.4 billion yen($1.86 billion).Sales for the first six months of the fiscal year rose 12 percent to 5.064 trillion yen($44.31 billion) as vehicle sales edged up 6 percent to 1.82 million vehicle around the world.

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And this is the same company that a billionare wanted GM to go with